A Russian airliner crashed in central Sinai, killing all 224 people on board, on 31 October 2015
Flight KGL 9268 was carrying 214 Russian and three Ukrainian passengers
It was carrying mostly tourists from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia's St Petersburg
Militants linked to Islamic State say they brought down the Airbus A-321, but Russia has dismissed this claim
The plane is operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, also known as Metrojet
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti is reporting the crew of the crashed plane had reported engine problems during the week, according to a source at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
The report, in Russian, is here, external.
Al-Ahram, the Egyptian state-owned news provider, has a report on its website, external about the crash which quotes a pilot saying it was due to a "technical failure".
The report says Ayman Al-Mokadem is heading a committee to monitor the crash's aftermath and quotes him saying the aircraft's pilot "sensed a technical failure and reported to the aviation authorities that he wanted to land at the nearest airport"l
The pilot appeared to crash while trying to land in Al-Arish's airport in North Sinai, Mr Mokadem said, according to the report.
Reuters is quoting Egyptian PM Sherif Ismail speaking about the crash:
Quote MessageThe investigation has not started yet... a technical team will move there to start it and there is coordination with the Russian ambassador over the accident and the efforts of the government."
The Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai is an Airbus A-321. The aircraft manufacturer has tweeted:
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Egypt's prime minister and other ministers are flying to the site of the plane crash on a private jet, according to a tourism ministry statement translated by Reuters.
The Guardian, which is also following the latest, external from the Egypt, has posted a link to a statement by Maria Zakharova from Russia's foreign ministry.
According to their translation, it doesn't give any new information, but promises updates as soon as they are available.
The original post, in Russian, is here, external.
BBC Cairo correspondent tweets:
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The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says is it likely there will be speculation about militant involvement in the incident - Sinai has an active militant network, with local Jihadis who have allied themselves to so-called Islamic State.
But an aviation source has told her the aircraft was flying at an altitude where it could not have been struck by something from the ground. However, this report has been unconfirmed.
There is also no suggestion at present that Jihadis were involved.
Our correspondent adds that mechanical failure could also be considered.
A service that tracks flights has posted some tweets about the location of the Airbus A-321 when it disappeared from the radar:
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BBC Radio 5 Live
Mikail Robertson, from Flight Radar 24 which is a live flight tracking service, says the Russian airliner had been gaining altitude after take off at 03:50 GMT when it developed problems.
“It reached about 30,000ft when it suddenly started to drop very fast," he told BBC’s 5Live Breakfast.
"We tracked a drop of 5,000ft in about one minute and then we lost coverage for this flight.”
They lost track of the flight at 04:14 GMT.
BBC Breakfast
The BBC's Orla Guerin, reporting from the Egyptian capital, Cairo, says there are "very very few hopes" of finding survivors.
Our correspondent says the aircraft had been due to make contact with air traffic control around 20 minutes after take off, but that did not happen.
The Egyptian prime minister is to hold an emergency cabinet meeting.
Egypt's Civil Aviation authority has confirmed the plane has been found down in the Hassana area, south of Arish, Sinai.
The plane was flying at an altitude of 31,000ft when it vanished from radar screens,the statement adds, according to Reuters.
BBC Breakfast
Simon Calder, from the BBC Travel Show, says Russian airlines have "a relatively poor" safety record compared with those in Western Europe.
He says the airline running the flight is a small one based in western Siberia. The aircraft is 18-years-old and has a "very good safety record", he adds.
More from Reuters: A security official says the plane went down in a mountainous area in central Sinai and poor weather conditions have made it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene.
The Egyptian TV channel CBC reports the wreckage of the plane has been found in North Sinai, quoting the head of the emergency services in South Sinai.
A security officer has told Reuters the Russian airliner has been completely destroyed and most passengers are likely to have died.
This information has not been verified by the BBC and is unconfirmed.
News agency Reuters is quoting Egyptian security sources as saying there are no indications the plane was shot down.
Information is emerging slowly. At the moment, we know the Airbus A-321 had just taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh and was on its way to the Russian city of St Petersburg.
It's thought most of the passengers were Russian tourists.
The plane is operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia.
The latest reports say it was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew.
Good morning. We'll be bringing you live updates from Egypt, where the prime minister's office has said a Russian airliner, which had more than 200 people on board, has crashed in central Sinai.